Managing Uncertainty: Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Turbulent Times

Chapter 8

Conclusion: creating an integrated approach

Managing uncertainty is integral to my work. If there is one thing you can be absolutely certain about, it is that the world is uncertain. That has to be the starting point for managing any form of activity or transaction. If you are not sufficiently clear that you are working in the context of an uncertain world, your plans will fail.

Chris Stephenson, States of Jersey

THIS CHAPTER DRAWS TOGETHER the main lessons in this book about how to manage uncertainty better. The global financial crisis provided a rare opportunity to analyse how companies responded to an unprecedented degree of turbulence, what they have learned from the experience and how it had changed their attitude to management.

The managing uncertainty survey carried out for this book and the follow-up interviews brought out the following:

• Firms were being buffeted not by just one but several sources of uncertainty. In the survey, it was clear that in the fallout from the financial crisis respondents were extremely concerned about the scale of uncertainty and the range of different uncertainties affecting their businesses.
• Uncertainty is a new business reality that has to be managed. Over 70% of those surveyed said that the crisis had made them realise they should put more consideration into how to manage uncertainty and risk within their business. But they viewed managing uncertainty as distinct from enterprise risk management and other related management disciplines, ...